Monday, February 3, 2014

Armani plans to open a store in SouthPark mall this year, in the space formerly occupied by the Ralph Lauren store.

There's no exact date for the store opening yet, but a spokeswoman for SouthPark confirmed the project (And thanks for the tips, alert readers!).

The Ralph Lauren store closed in May last year. The new store at SouthPark will be an Armani Collezioni store. Building permits haven't been pulled yet, but the project is still viewable on the county's website here.

Armani Collezioni will join a new lineup of stores at SouthPark that includes apparel retailer H&M and kid favorite American Girl.

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comments:

Ely you should mention that "Collezioni" is a diffusion brand (i.e. a lower-price, lower quality label) rather than Armani mainline (where the label actually says "Giorgio Armani").

Specifically as it pertains to men's suits, Collezioni is fused, meaning the jacket fabric is glued to the lining. This makes for a stiffer look and can lead to shine and puckering once the suit has been dry cleaned.

A canvassed jacket is preferred; the lining is stitched to the fabric and "floats". This permits better drape and prevents puckering & shine. At the A.Collezioni pricepoint, one can find a canvassed suit by Corneliani (Paul Simon), Hickey Freeman (Paul Simon or Nordstrom Rack), Canali, and Samuelsohn (Fairclough or Taylor Richards & Conger). At higher pricepoints are Zegna (TRC or Neiman Marcus), Isaia, and Oxxford (Fairclough or TRC).

P.S.: Armani is only a designer. Their fabrics are from other makers (the mainline suits use Zegna) and the manufacturing is done by Conf. di Matelica SpA (Collezioni) or Vestimenta (Giorgio Armani mainline a/k/a Black Label).

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Katie Peralta

Katie Peralta

About this blog

Katie Peralta covers retail and breaking business news for the Charlotte Observer. She previously wrote about the U.S. economy from inside the Beltway. If you have a tip or story idea, you can reach Katie at 704-358-5079 or by email. She's also on twitter: @katieperalta.